The British government has outlined plans to end the use of hotels to house asylum seekers, a move it says will save 1.2 billion euros a year, which will be allocated to increase defence and health spending.
The Labour government has outlined plans to end the use of hotels in the United Kingdom to hold asylum seekers by the end of the legislature set in 2029, a move it says will save 1 billion pounds a year, or 1.2 billion euros.
Unveiling her multi-year Spending Review to the House of Commons on Wednesday (June 11), the British Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves highlighted a promised increase in military spending -- with an extra 11 billion pounds (13 billion euros) -- thus bringing defence spending to 2.6 percent of GDP by the end of April 2027, including an additional 600 million pounds for Britain's security and intelligence agencies.
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New investments of the Labour government
In her address, the British finance minister confirmed the "record cash investment" in the state-run National Health Service (NHS), which she said would receive an extra 29 billion pounds per year for day-to-day spending.
Reeves said this will increase the spending on the health service by 3 percent each year of the spending review.
The Chancellor slammed the "austerity" of the previous Conservative government, guaranteeing a series of investments already announced by the Labour executive, including 22 billion pounds to be devoted to research (with 2 billion pledged for artificial intelligence), 39 billion to be invested in a 10-year-programme to build lower-cost housing, 30 billion in energy (including nuclear energy), and 15 billion to boost public transport.
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Opposition questions government
Meanwhile, Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride accused Reeves of providing no clear indication on the expected cuts in ministries and on the coverage of financial commitments.
He said the executive faced an extra 200 billion pounds of borrowing compared to the last Budget of the Conservative government and dismissed the plans as a "spend now, tax later" strategy, predicting a "cruel summer of speculation" ahead of the fall budget — where he alleged tax rises will be announced to balance the books.